What is this? The COVID-19 pandemic is placing a strain on healthcare services and resources. Existing research into the cost-effectiveness of telehealth services may provide useful information for policy makers.

In this systematic review, the authors searched for studies of telehealth services using real time video communication that reported both economic and health outcomes. They restricted their searches to articles published in English before June 2009. They included 18 randomized trials and 18 non-randomized studies, covering a variety of health disciplines.

What was found: In general, in the studies available for this review (before 2010), telehealth services were less costly than usual care, but some studies reported greater costs.

In the studies available for this review (before 2010), telehealth services were cost-effective for home care and access to on-call hospital specialists.

From the studies available for this review (before 2010), telehealth services were not cost-effective for local delivery of services between hospitals and primary care.

From the studies available for this review (before 2010), the effects of telehealth services for rural service delivery, are uncertain.

Disclaimer: This summary has been written by staff and volunteers of Evidence Aid in order to make the content of the original document accessible to decision makers who are searching for the available evidence on the coronavirus (COVID-19) but may not have the time, initially, to read the original report in full. This summary is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians, other health workers, professional associations, guideline developers, or national governments and international agencies. If readers of this summary think that the evidence that is presented within it is relevant to their decision-making they should refer to the content and details of the original article, and the advice and guidelines offered by other sources of expertise, before making decisions. Evidence Aid cannot be held responsible for any decisions made about the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the basis of this summary alone.

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